Colby Copp, Ty Freehill and Joshua Varize have arrived at their home race on the Monster Energy AMA Supercross circuit.
The three 250cc class competitors are Northern California natives, so their visit to RingCentral Coliseum in Oakland, Calif., is quite literally a journey back to where it all started.
With Copp hailing from Los Banos, Freehill from the hills of El Dorado and Varize from Redwood City, their hometowns are all within two hours driving distance of Oakland. While that translates to added fans in the stands with supportive friends and family, as well as an extra twinge of motivation to defend their California turf, all three are focused on the task at hand — making the main event.
Copp and Freehill are privateers, though they are associated with Next Level Racing. Varize is one step closer to a factory ride with the AEO Powersports KTM Racing team. But when it comes to earning a spot on the 22-rider starting gate, facing off against the best 250SX Supercross riders in the world is anything but easy.
For the three California boys, talk of championships and race wins turns into talk of making it into the next race.
Copp is in his second full year of racing in the 250SX West division, and the main thing on his mind is consistency.
“The most challenging thing is just going out each weekend. One weekend you can be 10th and the next you could be 20th,” Copp said. “I want to be a consistent main event guy, but realistically, I just want to go out there and see progression.”
The No. 645 rider got his start racing flat track ovals, but steered his career toward Supercross as he got older. After competing in a few regional series and appearing at national amateur races, Copp has finally made it to the big leagues.
“It’s the biggest stage of racing in the world. It’s the fastest 40 guys in the world,” Copp said. “It’s everyone’s dream when you enter this sport.”
Freehill made his debut on a dirt bike at four years old at Sacramento Raceway and after years of dreaming about it, officially entered the Supercross world last year.
“It went good until I was knocked out and broken on the floor, but until then it was pretty good,” Freehill said with a laugh. “I’m drawn to Supercross, because growing up and watching the guys, it’s such an intense sport.”
He has yet to put his No. 517 machine into the evening program at a Supercross event, but he remains undeterred with his eye on the prize. Freehill admits the life of a privateer in Supercross can be a struggle at times — for example, without factory support, the cost of transporting a dirt bike around the country is on the rider’s shoulders.
But despite the injury risks and the off-the-track stress, he’s committed to doing everything he can to make a main.
“I’m splitting firewood, doing everything I can to make this racing thing happen,” Freehill said. “As a privateer, no one’s really paying for it. I have sponsors who help me out a lot, but still, it’s a lot of money.”
On the other hand, Varize is positioned nicely with his AEO Powersports KTM Racing team, although it’s not a full factory ride. But it helps with the week-to-week undertakings required to compete on a national level. His story to Supercross mirrors Copp and Freehill’s, as he was introduced to the dirt bike world at three years old. All it took was a visit to an Arenacross race as a kid, and Varize was hooked.
However, the 20-year-old traces the start of his journey to a single decision he made nearly a decade ago.
“It was like, ‘OK, motocross or basketball?’” Varize said. “There was the split lane in front of me and I took the motocross route.”
He made his Supercross debut in 2021, moonlighting with the Rockstar Energy Husqvarna factory team, and joined the AEO Powersports KTM Racing operation as a fill-in rider in 2022. This year, he’s full time with the KTM team, racing the orange No. 42 bike. Admittedly, he’s just happy to be on the 250SX class roster.
“It’s just the adrenaline rush,” Varize said. “Honestly, it’s all I know. Like I said, I’ve been riding since I was three. I can’t even remember what I did before. If I was to not do it, I don’t know what I’d do.”
After a brief riding session on the track on Friday afternoon during press day in Oakland, Varize made the decision to sit out Saturday’s race day, due to pain from a collarbone injury he had surgery on a week ago.
Copp and Freehill plan to hit the track in full force on Saturday.
Keyword: California Crop Takes On Oakland Supercross